Veterans Day a reminder of one brother's sacrifice and another's goal

David Walker wanted to go into the Army with his older brother, Daniel Rivera. But Rivera died in Iraq, and Walker wants to do all he can so that other brothers come home.
Patti Singer and Max Schulte

Buy Photo

David Walker works on a simulated wound at the Isabella Graham Hart School of Practical Nursing at Rochester Regional Health. Walker wants to be a flight nurse in the Air Force, and is motivated by the death of his brother, Daniel Rivera, in 2009 in Iraq.(Photo: MAX SCHULTE/@maxrocphoto/staff photographer)Buy Photo

For about one week a year, David Walker was the same age as his brother Daniel Rivera.

Born 11 months apart, they went through school with Rivera graduating from Victor High School in 2005.

“I always got a little bit better grades,” said Walker, who graduated in 2006. “We played soccer in Flower City league and he was better. He was bigger, he was stronger.”

Rivera protected Walker from the kids who bullied him because he used to have a stutter.

“We were like a team,” Walker said. “Whatever we did, we did it together. We got in trouble together.”

They wanted to go into the military together. Rivera and Walker are from a military family — six of their relatives have served in various branches. “Me and my brother are like normal Americans," Walker said. "We love our country. It’s a hard life being in the military but it’s deeply satisfying and worth it.”

Buy Photo

David Walker, who spent a year in the Air Force training to be a medic, does classwork in a practical nurse program at Rochester Regional Health. Walker's brother, Daniel Rivera, was killed in Iraq in 2009 and Walker wants to return to the Air Force as a flight nurse.(Photo: MAX SCHULTE/@maxrocphoto/staff photographer)

Rivera, being just that much older, went first. He joined the Army in 2008. In October 2009, he was killed in a motor vehicle accident in Mosul, Iraq. Pfc. Daniel Rivera was 22.

After a few years went by — time, Walker said, for their mother to come to terms with now her only son enlisting — he joined the Air Force and was trained as a medic.

“I can’t talk about my military service without talking about Daniel,” Walker said. “Veterans Day is coming up (it is today, Nov. 11) and I feel like people forget about him. He’s another name in a long list of people that are gone. For me, that’s not just a name on a list. That’s my brother.”

Eight years have passed. When the family gathers, there is a chair for Rivera.

Buy Photo

David Walker, who served in the Air Force, is studying at Rochester Regional Health to be a nurse. He wants to be a flight nurse. Part of the motivation is Walker's brother, Daniel Rivera, who died in Iraq in 2009.(Photo: MAX SCHULTE/@maxrocphoto/staff photographer)

“I think about my brother every day,” the 29-year-old Rochester man said. “I use my brother as motivation because he’s not here so I have to do the best I can do. It’s a gift to be here and alive, and I have to make the best of what time I have left. I want to use it to improve people’s lives.”

Initially, Walker said he wanted to be a tanker in the Army. But when Rivera came back from Iraq for a week of R&R, Walker said his brother told him to consider the Air Force.

“I think he was trying to get me to go to the Air Force because he thought it would be safer for me,” Walker said.

He said he initially wanted to be like Rambo. Shortly after reading the report on Rivera’s accident, he started thinking about being the one who, as he described it, patches up Rambo. Walker said his family remains close to the medic who tried to save Rivera.

NEWSLETTERS

Get the ROC60 newsletter delivered to your inbox

We're sorry, but something went wrong

Rochester in 60 seconds: Get all the news you need to know in less than a minute.

“What stuck with me was my brother didn’t make it back, so I wanted to make it so other people’s brothers can make it back,” Walker said.

Walker signed up for the Air Force on June 27, 2014, which would have been Daniel's birthday. Walker spent time at Lackland Air Force Base and at Fort Sam Houston, both in Texas. He trained as a medic and received an honorable discharge in June 2015. He achieved the rank of airman.

Walker came back to Rochester, and in August 2017 enrolled in the Isabella Graham Hart School of Practical Nursing at Rochester Regional Health, the same program that his sister, Shadel Bradford, completed in 2013.

Walker expects to finish the 10-month course in June. In August 2018, he can sit for the exam to be a licensed practical nurse. When he passes, the next step is to earn his registered nurse degree and return to the Air Force as a flight nurse and an officer.

“If I were to accomplish that goal, I’m going to help out a lot of people,” he said. “I have a long road ahead of me. … But it’s going to be worth it to help people.”

The nursing students are required to give a presentation about why they want to be a nurse and what inspires them. Walker talked about his brother, said Gloria Berent, senior director of clinical education.

“David wants to help people,” she said. “That’s his drive.”

Myrian Rivera saw that Walker was lost for the first couple of years without his brother. But in her heart, she didn’t want him to sign up. “I didn’t want to lose another son.”

She said Walker convinced her that enlisting was the right thing for him to do.

“David is very smart,” she said. “If he puts his mind to anything, he’ll do it. I know he’ll do well.”

PSINGER@Gannett.com

Veterans resources

The Veterans Outreach Center offers programs and support for veterans in Monroe and neighboring counties. Call (866) 906-8387.

The Veterans Crisis Line connects veterans and their friends and family with support. Go to www.veteranscrisisline.net/, call (800) 273-8255 or text 838255.